Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters used in this story. Stephenie Meyer owns them all (lucky). I am just having some fun and gathering entertainment from them. I also do NOT own the name Social Distortion. In addition, I do not own the name, Dr. Greene. I had a reader point out that Dr. Greene was a cancer doctor on ER. I did not know this. I have never watched that show.

A/N…I cannot tell you how SORRY I am for leaving you hanging. It was never my intention. See bottom for more. Enjoy the chapter!

Song for this chapter: Apologize by One Republic featuring Timbaland

http://www(dot)youtube(dot)com/watch?v=ePyRrb2-fzs

Chapter 29

EPOV

July 4, 2011

I paced back and forth downstairs in the living room as I kept an ear tuned towards the baby monitors. We had one in Toni's room and one in the twin's room.

I had a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach that would not go away.

Something was not right.

I never should have let her walk out that fucking door.

We did not need the diaper bag that badly…we could have made do with everything we had here.

Bella should have returned to me by now.

Where the hell was she?

I decided to call Jasper and Emmett. I could not leave my kids here alone. Someone needed to go after her to see if she was okay.

It took forever for Jasper to answer the phone. "This better be fucking good!" He said breathlessly.

Great.

I did not even want to imagine why he was irritated and out of breath.

"Jasper…"

He did not give me a chance to finish.

"This better be really fucking good, Edward. I don't think you want to hear the things your sister and I are in the middle of doing," he panted.

Oh sweet Jesus.

"Damn it, Jasper! Your sister is in trouble!"

"What?" He asked…paying full attention now.

"Bella is in trouble!" I replied.

I explained to him what happened after we returned home and how Bella was still not back home yet.

He tried to reason with me and tell me that I was being paranoid.

I simply reminded him that this was his baby sister we were dealing with…who also happened to be danger magnet extraordinaire.

My fear increased when I heard my sister's scared voice in the background.

"Jasper, GO!" She yelled. "Actually, give me the phone!"

I heard some noises and then Alice's tinkling voice on the phone. "Edward, Jasper and I are coming to you now. You and Jasper have to get to the tavern. I'll stay with the babies."

"Alice what is it?"

"I don't know…but I agree with you. Something is wrong and Bella is in trouble. I just have a feeling!"

"Alright, I'll be waiting…hurry!"

I stood on the front porch with the baby monitors in my hands so I could listen for my children and be ready to go when they got here.

Jasper and I had to get there in time.

Whatever our feelings were…I knew something was terribly wrong with my wife…and it was bad.

BPOV

July 4, 2011

I stared at the man who looked so much like my husband but would never be the man that he was.

"I will never understand how you can have the audacity to sit there and blame an innocent baby for killing his mother! He was an infant for Christ's sake! He did not kill your wife! You are insane!"

"Shut up! If it were not for him…my Lizzie would still be here. She's not…because she had to have him!"

I suddenly smelled smoke. Why didn't I notice that before now?

Edward, Sr. saw me crinkle my nose.

"I've set fire to this whole place, Isabella. We are going to burn…in here…together. There is no escape. I will be with my Lizzie soon."

I started to panic. I never imagined he would set the tavern on fire! How was I going to get out of here alive?

Maybe Edward would realize I had been gone too long and send help.

Perhaps I could find some sense of humanity left inside of Edward's sperm donor.

"Mr. Masen, you say that we are going to die in here together and you will be with your Lizzie soon. What would she think of what you are doing? Do you really think she is going to be happy with you when she sees you…happy that you killed her son's wife…the mother of her grandchildren?"

His evil face faltered a bit but then his anger returned. "Shut the fuck up! You have no idea what my Lizzie would want! You know nothing little girl!"

I had no idea where he started the fire or how long it would take to reach us.

He was clearly not budging and he was not letting me out of here.

There had to be a way and I had to find it.

Hurry Edward…please hurry.

Edward, Sr. must have noticed my eyes darting around the room…trying hard to plan some sort of an escape.

He laughed at me and said, "Ah, Isabella. I see that you are trying to find a way out of here. I assure you that you will do no such thing! My son is going to pay for what he took from me. I am taking you from him…once and for all!"

"Please, Mr. Masen, think about your grandchildren! You are taking their mother from them. Please do not do this to my babies!" I pleaded with him.

"Sorry sweetheart. I tried to take you from Edward without physically hurting you…but you kept taking him back!"

"I'll leave him! If you let me go right now…I will walk out of the tavern and first thing tomorrow…I will file for divorce! I'll take the children from him…everything…just please don't hurt me and make my children grow up without their mother."

I was lying…I would never leave Edward. I hoped that if I told him this he would let me out of here and then Edward would know what to do in order to get him out of our lives for good.

He laughed again, "You really expect me to believe that? You're not a good liar dear."

I hung my head in defeat. There was only one thing for me to try to do. I was going to have to try to push my way through him and out of the building.

I tried not to think about anything but my boys, Toni and Edward as I tried to run out of the office door.

Edward, Sr. grabbed me quickly from behind and held me tightly. "You're not going anywhere, Isabella. This is our fate. I'm sorry you had to get caught in the crossfire of this war between my son and me but you are merely collateral damage."

"You sound like a nut job! Do you hear yourself? There is no war going on between you and Edward! He is a good man…which is more than I can say for you. Clearly, he takes after his mother! He is forgiving, with a big heart! He probably would have let you into his life…if you were not such a psychopath!"

"I've heard enough out of you! I'm not waiting for the fire to reach this office!"

He threw me onto my father's desk and wrapped his hands around my neck…trying to choke the life out of me.

I tried to fight back but I was out of strength.

This was it…I was going to die before I even had a chance to burn if I did not do something. The smoke smell was getting stronger…which meant the fire was probably closer to the office now.

"Pl…ease…" I tried to say but it did not come out very well.

"I don't want to do this Isabella. I'm sorry," he said.

In my peripheral vision, I saw something silver. I knew immediately what it was. My father kept this picture on his desk ever since we gave it to him. Perhaps, this would make Edward, Sr. see the light…finally.

I grabbed the picture frame and shoved it up to his eyes, giving him a close view of it.

He released his hold on my neck and I sat up on the desk coughing. He took the picture from me and stared at it.

We had taken a picture just last week…Xander, J.R., Toni, Edward and me. Our first complete family portrait.

"Look at that! Those are my children! That is my family! Please do not take me from them. None of them deserve this…including Edward…no matter how much you think that he does! Think about what Lizzie would want! She gave her life to bring Edward into this world…it will destroy him if you kill me! Please Edward! I know there is good in you somewhere. Lizzie would never have married you if there wasn't."

He was caving…I could see it in his eyes. He was weeping as he stared at the picture. He started brushing his fingers delicately over where I knew Edward was in the picture.

"Lizzie," he whispered.

Please God, let this work!

He looked up at me and everything about him had shifted…his eyes…his posture…everything. A broken and sad man stood before me…but he no longer looked angry or hell-bent on revenge.

"Bella, I am going to make sure you get out of here. I'm…sorry."

I breathed a sigh of relief. I started to move past him and run from the office but he stopped me. "Wait, I need you to do me a favor."

I nodded.

"Please tell Edward…that it was not his fault. I killed his mother. My temper has always been awful. I did not hurt her at first. I was just stressed with work and everything in our lives…that the abuse began later…after she had already committed herself to me completely.

"She would never leave me. She always told me she loved me and knew that the kind man she had married was inside of me somewhere. She never gave up hope on me…even when I beat her so badly that I sent her into early labor…and it cost me her life."

He looked at me with shame and regret in his eyes.

Edward was not responsible at all…not that I ever felt he was…but his sperm donor had made him feel that way. That was why he tortured himself and led the life that he did before me.

His father could not face what he did to his wife…so he blamed it on their son.

Now he would have to live with that shame and regret…forever.

"I'm glad that Carlisle kept Edward from me…a part of me always knew…if I had been around him…I would have hurt him," he whispered.

I started to say something but he grabbed me by the arm…not too forcefully and said, "I have to get you out of here quickly. I need to make this right. I am going to do right by my Lizzie…for once."

He opened the office door only for us to be hit in the face with a massive amount of smoke. I started coughing and choking.

I felt lightheaded very quickly. The flames were engulfing the stage and many of the tables around the bar…everything my father had worked so hard to accomplish would soon be gone.

How long would it take fire trucks to get here and put out these flames? Would anything be left? Would I even be alive?

Edward, Sr. had cut the phone lines and destroyed my cell phone. How would anyone even know what was happening? My father made sure that his tavern was in the middle of nowhere so that it would not disturb any neighboring communities.

My legs were giving out and I was suddenly lifted into sturdy arms. "I will get you out of here, Bella. I'm sorry that I did this. I do hope you tell my son what I asked you to."

I was carried over to the couch. He placed me down on the blanket that was there and wrapped it tightly around me.

"Hold on. I am wrapping this blanket around you to try and keep you from getting burned as much as possible."

I felt very weak as he lifted me back into his arms. There was smoke everywhere I looked. I felt him running with me in his arms. Everything around me felt hot. I tried to open my eyes but I could not.

I just wanted to sleep.

Suddenly fresh air hit me hard and I knew we were out of the building. Edward, Sr. placed me gently into the grass. I was able to open my eyes and see that he was burned on parts of his body. They did not look too bad. "You should be far enough from the building, Bella. Don't forget what I need you to tell Edward…and please tell him…despite everything…I love him."

"Where…are…you…going?" I stuttered as I coughed up soot and black gunk.

"I'm going to join my Lizzie…it's what I deserve. Please give Edward my apologies. Tell him…at one time…I did love him. I just allowed myself to be overcome with grief and hate…but I really hated myself the most. I'm coming to you Lizzie."

With that, he ran back into the tavern. "Wait," I tried to yell but it only came out as a hoarse whisper.

My eyes were heavy and I allowed them to close. I was beginning to feel very confused as to where I was…and extremely sleepy. I thought that maybe if I just rested my eyes and slept for a bit…Edward would be here soon.

EPOV

July 4, 2011

I was a nervous wreck throughout the entire drive to the tavern. Bella had to be okay…there was no other option. I knew in my gut something was wrong…but I had no idea what it was.

When we pulled into the parking lot…my heart sunk and I felt immense pain in my chest. New Moon Tavern was engulfed in flames and crumbling into pieces.

We pulled in behind Bella's SUV so I knew that she was still here…inside the building.

I was out of Jasper's truck and running towards the fire before he could stop me.

"Edward stop! Goddamn it! Think about the kids!" He screamed.

I fell to my knees where I stood and sobbed. It was not true…my beautiful Bella could not be in the building.

She was not gone forever.

I would never accept that.

How would I tell our children that their mother died because I could not protect her?

I could hear Jasper behind me. He was calling 911 and his voice sounded shaky. He was crying as well.

Right after he hung up the phone, I heard the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.

Coughing.

A sputtering…choking sound.

"Over here!" I heard Jasper yell.

I followed him and over in the grass where there were bushes hiding her from our view…laid my gorgeous wife.

Alive…and breathing.

I looked her over as I pulled her into my arms. She was choking, coughing and spitting up black stuff.

"Bella, take deep breaths for me sweetheart. We need to try and clear this crap out of your lungs," her brother told her.

"What happened?" I asked her.

Jasper gave me an incredulous look and said, "She is in no condition to discuss this right now. Later. For now, we need to get this crap out of her lungs and get her breathing properly again."

I nodded.

He was right.

"I'm going to throw up," she croaked.

I held her hair back and helped her, as she got sick. Jasper explained to me that this was normal for smoke inhalation.

I tried to explain to him that I was in school previously to be a doctor so I was not a complete moron.

But it was not the time.

The ambulance and fire trucks showed up rather quickly. I guess in the small town of Forks there was not much else happening tonight.

Bella was more awake as the paramedics loaded her into the ambulance. Jasper told me to go with her while he called everyone and dealt with the fire stuff.

My wife kept trying to talk to me and the paramedics finally told her she needed to stop talking and focus on breathing in clean air. She could talk to me later.

Carlisle was already there when we arrived at the hospital. He was just about to head home when he heard a new patient was coming in and when he heard the name…he was not leaving.

He was working on her immediately upon arrival and allowed me to stay in the cubicle with them. A nurse tried to bitch at him about hospital policy and me getting in the way. He scolded her and she became quiet immediately.

My father smiled up at me after he finished assessing Bella's condition. "She is going to be just fine, Edward. There is absolutely no need to worry. She is suffering from a fairly mild case of smoke inhalation and I want to keep her overnight for observation…but she is going to be just fine."

"Thanks, Dad," I told him in relief.

"Now…care to tell me how this happened to my daughter?"

He had not referred to Bella as his daughter-in-law for awhile…he and Esme both thought of her as their child. They felt the same way about Jasper and Rose.

I explained to him that I had no idea what had happened from the time she left the house until Jasper and I found her.

He said that she would probably sleep for a little while and she was also being moved into a room. He told me to go talk to everyone in the waiting room and see what answers we could piece together from this mystery.

When I walked out to the waiting room, I saw Emmett, Rose and my mother. None of us could figure out what put Bella here.

Alice was still at our house with the kids. Esme called Charlie and Tanya. They were already in Seattle waiting to board their flight to Hawaii. As soon as they heard, they started driving back to Forks. They still had a few hours before they would be here.

Carlisle came to tell me that Bella was in her room, awake and asking for me.

I rushed right to my wife.

When I walked through that door and saw her angelic face smiling back at me, it was one of the best moments of my life.

I truly knew then that she was alright.

"Edward…we need to talk."

She then began to tell me everything that happened when she arrived at the tavern. I was furious that my so-called father would fucking try to take my wife from me like that.

He was an evil man indeed!

However, Bella then began to tell me how she got through to him. Then, she told me what his last message was to me.

I had not killed my mother.

In our therapy sessions, I was getting better at letting go of the guilt I harbored over that one event in my life.

I was an infant…how could I possibly have been responsible for something such as that? Yet, somewhere in the back of my mind…I still felt the guilt…sorrow…regret…responsibility for something I ultimately had no control over.

A part of me felt saddened that he was dead. There was no way we would ever be able to try to mend our broken relationship.

We probably would not have been able to anyway…but I would have been willing to try.

I was grateful that he was able to lift this burden from my shoulders finally. I would never feel guilty over my mother's death again for the rest of my life.

"How are you feeling now, love?" I asked her once she had gotten quiet.

"Tired. I want to see our babies."

"Tomorrow, sweetie, tomorrow. Tonight you rest. I almost lost you. I would not be able to handle that."

I lay in her hospital bed and held her in my arms tightly.

"I'm never going anywhere, Edward. You should know by now you cannot possibly get rid of me that easily," she laughed.

"Like I would ever try!" I said mocking her.

She gave me a mischievous grin and said, "Oh I seem to remember a time you tried very hard to get rid of me, Mister!"

I smiled at her, "Yes well that was when I was quite young and stupid my dear."

"It was not that long ago Edward!" She scolded.

"Who said I'm not still young and stupid?" I laughed.

"Oh stop it!" She giggled as she smacked me lightly.

It was the best sound in the world. I pulled her closer so I could snuggle into her tighter. "I love you baby," I cooed into her ear.

"Love you too," she mumbled as she began drifting back to sleep.

"I will never try to get rid of you again my love. That was the dumbest thing I could have ever done."

"Mmhmm," she hummed.

I looked down at her in my arms. How did I get this fucking lucky? I had an amazing wife, three beautiful children and the best family a guy could ask to have.

All because of one misguided night in Vegas.

Thank God that saying was completely fucking wrong.

What happens in Vegas most certainly does NOT stay in Vegas!

A/N…All we have left is the Epilogue my friends. I will do my best to get it posted as soon as humanly possible.

I don't want to send out a teaser for the epilogue because I want you guys to be completely surprised. But I do hope you review this chapter and let me know what you thought.

If I keep to my plans for it though…it might be somewhat long. I am not sure yet. I know the ideas that I have for it and everything I want to fit in so we shall see how it goes.

I don't want to send out a teaser for the epilogue because I want you guys to be completely surprised. But I do hope you review this chapter and let me know what you thought.

Now…I am incredibly sorry for the lateness of this chapter. The last few weeks have been crazy in my life. We had a stomach virus and a flu bug run through my house one right after the other. That was followed by a week spent in the hospital with my niece while she was induced into labor because she had early stages of Toxemia. The baby was put in NICU immediately because she was purple and not breathing when she first entered the world.

She is great now and just came home yesterday finally after a week spent in NICU…but as I said…things have been hectic.

I will try to get a chapter of B&S posted by Sun at the latest. I will TRY very hard!

If you are not reading KryssBee's stories please go do so!

Also, thanks to dolphin62598 for looking over this for me. If you are not reading her stuff already…what the hell are you waiting for? She is an amazing writer and you will not be disappointed.

One last reading suggestion…go check out TwiTwin1's stories. I think you will like it and she could use some love! Tell her I sent you!

My final thought: I am sure all of you are aware what has been going on with FF. If something happens with my stories...I will move to The Writer's Coffee Shop Library...just so you know where you can find me.